Pat Gale figured the College of Staten Island had at least one good option for killing a few hours after the Dolphins staved off early elimination in the CUNY Conference baseball tournament Friday afternoon by rallying for a 10-7 victory over Lehman at MCU Park in Coney Island.

"I think we'll probably stroll over to Nathan's for hot dogs,'' said the former CSI southpaw, two years removed from his NCAA Division III All-American season and finishing his first year as pitching coach.

Gale wasn't smiling earlier, when Lehman chased CSI ace Richard Anderson with a seven-run fifth inning to take a 7-1 lead. Anderson, last year's tourney MVP, had been cruising along when he suddenly lost command of the strike zone, hitting three batters including two with the bases loaded.

Sophomore Chris Matusiewicz saved the day, coming out of the bullpen to throw four scoreless innings while the Dolphins started chipping away at the lead. They eventually passed the error-prone Lightning with a five-run eighth as Will Difede's two-run single to right pulled them even at 7-7.

"It happens to every pitcher and it's just baseball,'' said Gale, who has signed to play professional ball with the Traverse City (Mich.) Beach Bums of the independent Frontier League this summer. "It's hard to explain. You can be on top of the world one minute and at the bottom the next. Rich has been solid all season as our No. 1.''

Gale was a busy man Friday as CSI began its quest of having to win four games in two days to defend the title it won last spring during Gale's senior season.

"I think we have enough pitching,'' said the 6-2, 225-pounder. "Losing the first game (4-1 to John Jay on Thursday) put us in a hole, and all we can do is take it one step at a time.''

Matusiewicz, like Anderson, is a Tottenville HS product. He was razor sharp, allowing one hit while striking out three.

Lehman helped out by making six errors and yielding six walks.

Junior shortstop Bryan Moreno drove in three runs without the benefit of a hit, and junior centerfielder Dan Lynch scored three runs. Lynch opened the decisive eighth inning with a double to right-center and the Dolphins scored the go-ahead run on an infield error with the bases loaded.

CSI (19-17 overall) was scheduled to return to the diamond to play John Jay, a 15-4 loser to top-seeded Baruch in a winners' bracket contest. A win there, and the Dolphins would have to turn around and win two more against unbeaten Baruch on Saturday (4 and 7) to claim the CUNY crown.

"We have our work cut out for us,'' said Gale.

With that, the first-year pitching coach began to head toward Surf Avenue for some lunch.